Daily Devotion for Lent - Day 25

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-10

There is an important detail at the beginning of these parables today (and tomorrow).  In the first verse, Luke shares that the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to listen to Jesus.  Who is grumbling?  The Pharisees and the scribes.

Why would this be so?

In that culture, positioning is important.  Those who were considered righteous would have the closest seats for discussion to the learned rabbi.  Jesus allows the seemingly unrighteous to usurp the entitled rightful place of those who had earned it.  

If we are honest with ourselves, we wouldn't like it either.  No one likes it when you have worked hard, and a Johnny-come-lately steals your spotlight.  How many of you have ever worked on a group project?  How did you feel when the slacker got the same grade as you?

Some sheep may be 
outsiders of their own accord!

It may be easier for us to be egalitarian in the abstract as we think of God's love coming to all no matter if they deserve it or not.  But what about concrete actions such as reputed sinners getting the best seats in the house?  What happens when someone takes the chair we thought was ours?  And takes it without waiting for us to offer it?  What about when they take it without acknowledging that it was ours?  It begins to sting a little bit.

Do we see why the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling?

Now as we hear those parables, we may find that we are called by God not to grumble at the lost but to seek them out.

As we move through Lent, where does resentment rise up in you?

Prayer for the day:

Loving God, we are thankful for the times we have been on the inside.  We are thankful for the families and communities to which we belong.  Help us to remember the times when we've not been so fortunate.  And give us compassion for those who make their homes on the outside.  We pray this in Jesus' name, who teaches us to seek out the lost.  Amen.

 

Photo by myri_bonnie via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons License.